Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 140: Taking Responsibility

Violet sat alone in the library, her table stacked with books, though none of them held her attention. Her gaze was fixed on her phone screen, her cheeks flushed as she stared at an "interesting" photo of Alaric.

It was a candid shot taken during the aftermath of the game, showing him buck naked, his body completely exposed. The image had gone viral, and Violet had stumbled upon it by sheer chance.

It unfortunately came with the territory. Shifting into their werewolf forms shredded clothing as easily as paper, leaving them as bare as the day they were born. It wasn’t something Violet could change or even object to. Even though it bothered her that others were ogling what she considered hers, Violet had no choice but to accept that this was Alaric’s world.

But even with that understanding, her lingered on the image longer than she should have. Violet’s eyes tracked the pale glow of his skin, the ripple of lean muscle along his torso, and the hard lines of his abdomen, training lower until —

"Someone’s thirsty."

Violet yelped, her phone slipping from her fingers as she stumbled backward and fell from her seat. Her heart thundered in her chest as she looked up to see Roman standing there, his green hair damp and messy, his grin stretching wide with mirth.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Violet snapped, scrambling to her feet and shoving him hard in the chest. He didn’t even budge, which only infuriated her more.

Roman chuckled, "I should be the one asking why you’re so worked up. I’m not the one caught drooling over her boyfriend’s—"

"Shut up!" Violet cut him off, shoving him again, though the act only seemed to amuse him.

Roman caught her hands with ease, holding them firmly in his grasp. "Careful, honey. You don’t want the librarian throwing you out for making a scene."

here to run away from the overwhelming attention her newfound fame brought, as well as escaping Alaric. Not even Lila knew where she was, knowing she’d run her

room, he would come find her. Now, Roman had found her first, and she wasn’t sure which was worse: facing Alaric or dealing with this

go now,"

released her hands instantly, raising his

huffed and turned back to her seat, intent on ignoring him. But Roman wasn’t done. Like an infuriating mosquito that refused to go until it was swatted away — or killed

her mouth to rebuke him, but the words died on her lips when she realized

around it. Her gaze then drifted over the splash of freckles scattered across his nose, the slight dip in his cheeks where dimples

him until a single droplet of water from his damp hair fell onto her

table with a speed that nearly toppled her chair, again. Her cheeks burned with mortification, horror and frustration that

followed her. It was a heady blend of ripe pineapple and rich whipped

of dark patchouli that teased her senses with both allure and

to scent people like a hound? But most of all,

laughed behind her, his voice warm and teasing as he picked up the books she had selected and read the titles aloud.

snatched the books from him with a scathing glare. "What do you want? I don’t recall inviting

he could walk in here and play games with her, then he was

simply, dropping into the seat across from her

you’ve finally run out of pu*sies to fuck?" Violet said with disdain, making it obvious how much she